


A Second Chance

by Gem_Alawas



Series: Creative Writing Works [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Arguing, F/M, Five Minute Play, Guardian Angels, Letters, Married Life, Near Death Experiences, Old Writing, Originally for a school assignment, Reverse Chronology, Screenplay/Script Format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23769754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gem_Alawas/pseuds/Gem_Alawas
Summary: A man is told by an angel that he has five minutes to live, and to think of his regrets.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Creative Writing Works [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712365





	1. The Ticking Clock

**Author's Note:**

> Originally made for a school assignment in a creative writing class. It's unedited from then, so any typos or mistakes remain. Written sometime in 2019.

CHARACTERS:  
MORT – Husband and father who lives a very average life. Only seen wearing a business suit.  
JUNE: Wife of MORT, adventurous and unsatisfied in the life he made for them.  
JOHN and JANE: Children of MORT and JUNE. Unremarkable people.  
LUCIEL: An angel sent to guide Mort. Wearing white and yellow/gold. On entrance he wears a dark business jacket over something that suggests wings. He holds a manila envelope with a halo inside.

SETTING:  
A nice but not fancy office with a simple desk covered in papers. A chair is at the desk. A solitary family photo sits on the corner of the desk. A clock, small and red, sits in the corner of the room. It is set to 11:55.

  
(Enter MORT stage left)  
(MORT paces around the room, rifling through papers.)  
  
MORT: So much to do…  
  
(He trails into mumbling as he sorts through them.)  
(Enter LUCIEL stage right, holding a manila envelope that hides his halo.)  
  
LUCIEL: Hello.  
MORT: I apologize if you’re here about the paperwork, but this is a bad time.  
LUCIEL: For you, it always would be.  
MORT: What do you mean? I just have to get through this and then I’ll be free.  
LUCIEL: No, you are always wrapped up in your work – for things outside it, it is always a bad time. You neglect everything else for it.  
MORT (combative): Who are you to talk about my life like that?  
MORT: You’re wrong about me, and you need to leave.  
  
(LUCIEL takes halo out of envelope and puts it on, drops envelope, takes off jacket to reveal “wings”)  
  
LUCIEL: I am Luciel, an angel of light.  
LUCIEL: I was sent here to tell you something.  
  
(LUCIEL strolls over to the corner of the room and picks up the clock before walking back and setting it on the desk, hitting a button to make it start counting up to 12.)  
  
LUCIEL: You only have five minutes before you will be struck down by a heart attack.  
LUCIEL: Use that time well.  
LUCIEL: Reflect on what your life has been like.  
LUCIEL: Do you have any regrets?  
  
(exit LUCIEL stage right to wait just off stage, just barely still visible)  
  
MORT: What?  
MORT: Only…five minutes?  
MORT: My life has been wonderful; nothing could be better!  
MORT: I have my lovely wife June, two great children, John and Jane, a stable job that pays enough, what more could I ask for?  
MORT: Even if I’m busy, even if I don’t see them much, it’s still pretty much perfect.  
MORT: But is it?  
MORT: June and I have been so distant lately, after our big argument.  
MORT: And I barely see the kids anymore.  
MORT: Maybe…  
MORT: Maybe June was right when she said that this life that we’re living isn’t much of a life.  
MORT: Every day the same…barely seeing the kids…have I made a mistake?  
MORT: I thought I was giving my family a perfect life, but was I really?  
MORT: Did I trap them into a life they didn’t want?  
MORT: I’ve made a terrible mistake.  
  
(MORT glances at the clock. He only has two minutes left.)  
  
MORT (talking quickly): I took no risks, changed nothing, never did trips or spontaneous things.  
MORT: But we were secure, never once put at risk.  
MORT: Is that what my family really wanted?  
MORT: June didn’t. Is this what I even wanted?  
  
(MORT is silent for a moment. Enter LUCIEL stage right, taking a couple steps forward but stopping some distance from MORT. MORT does not notice him.)  
  
MORT: I don’t think it was.  
  
(MORT glances at the clock. He only has less than a minute remaining.)  
  
MORT: And now I realize it, just as it’s too late to do a thing.  
  
(MORT goes to his knees, putting his hands to his head.)  
  
MORT: June, John, Jane…I’m sorry.  
  
(The clock strikes 12, but nothing happens. LUCIEL smiles.)  
  
LUCIEL: You have a second chance, Mort.  
LUCIEL: Good luck.  
  
(Exit LUCIEL stage right. End play.)


	2. A Last-Minute Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In what he thinks is his last moments, Mort writes a letter to June.

Dear June,

June, my wife, my love, I’m sorry. I was told I’m going to die in only a few minutes and I’ve got no time to find you, only to write this. I can’t explain, there’s just not enough time, not even to cry. I wish it were different, I wish there were something I could do, but I can’t. I’m so sorry, it seems that I’ve done so much wrong. We’ve drifted so far apart that I doubt you’ll miss me long; I doubt even Jane and John will. I’ve not done anything really wrong in my life, but I haven’t done anything really right either. All I’ve done is nothing. I wrapped myself up in my work, yet never reached any great height. Loved you, but without the fire and the passion and the devotion that you deserved. Raised our lovely Jane and John, but I didn’t do the best that even I could do for them. I was, in every respect, average. I wouldn’t say I’ll end up in Hell, but I don’t seem like one to go to Heaven either. Purgatory, perhaps, the middle ground – just like my life has been. I’ve had forty-three years to live and yet I’ve just existed all that time. From grades to friends to family, all I ever did was be average, and yet I only realize this as it’s too late to change it. I wish I could go back, do the things that I decided were too irresponsible, make some better choices, be a great person instead of a good one, but it’s too late. I’m going to die, confronted with the fact that all I’ve done is put our security over our happiness. My time is running out. I love you. I’m sorry. Goodbye.

I wish I could change something,  
Mort


	3. The Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The argument between Mort and June that is referenced in the letter.

(Enter MORT, JUNE from stage left)

JUNE: Why won’t you listen to me for once?  
MORT: Because I can’t! I need to keep our family secure, I can’t take risks, dear.  
JUNE: Don’t you understand? This isn’t living, we’re just existing!  
JUNE: You in your job, the kids in school, me at home having the same conversations over the same pile of things to sew! I can’t do this anymore!  
MORT: Why not? We’re secure, we’re happy, just like we’ve always been.  
JUNE: Yes, we’re secure, but this isn’t happiness Mort!  
MORT: Why not? We have everything a family could want! Two lovely kids, a nice house, I’ve got a good job, you don’t have to work.  
JUNE: Mort, those are somebody else’s dreams. Not mine, I don’t even think you want this as much as you think you do. We barely see each other, we barely spend time with the kids, every day is the same!  
MORT: Okay, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close.  
JUNE: No! It isn’t! We’ve trapped ourselves in a loop of being nothing, achieving nothing, changing nothing! I don’t think that’s the life you want, and it sure isn’t what I want! If this is really what you want for us, then you aren’t the man I thought I married!

(JUNE exit stage right, crying)  
(MORT exit stage left, slowly)


	4. Bonus: "Evidence"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not related to the story of Mort and June - but a short thing I did for another assignment that was used to prepare for the three others. I thought it was amusing, so I decided to put it here.

“Benedict’s Personal Injury Law Firm, Brenda speaking,” the receptionist, a middle-aged woman, recited from her usual script. “How can we help you?”  
“Hi, I’m Jared, I was recently in a car accident.” The younger man answered, in a tone that spoke of exasperation.  
“Alright, we can help you with a plan to get reimbursed. What kind of law help are you looking for?” The woman asked.  
The man sighed. “I’m being blamed for this accident but it’s not my fault. I have whiplash from it,” he said.  
The lady prompted him with a question. “Do you have any evidence?”  
“Yes, I do,” he responded.  
“What kind of evidence do you have? And what do you want to do with it?” She continued, trying to hurry the pace of conversation.  
“God is my witness that it wasn’t my fault, and I want to sue for damages,” he stated blatantly.  
Brenda gulped before she spoke.  
“Um…I’ll send you over to…someone higher up.” Even after all the weird requests and ‘evidence’ she had gotten in her career, she hadn’t quite seen that coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No offense meant to anyone here. I just thought the idea of someone citing God as a witness was amusing.


End file.
